Shopping with BING

Thank you to BING for sponsoring my writing today. To learn more about BING Shopping Rewards, click here. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.


I will readily admit that each year I do my Christmas shopping online. I order diapers, make-up, cleaning products, household goods, food, and anything else in between all online. I started shopping online in 1998 and haven't looked back since. I loved the choices that were available to me even then. When I was working full-time and a new mom I would even order my groceries online and have them delivered to my door. Birthday presents for my kids classmates and friends? Ordered online. I have no qualms about using the Internet to make my life easier, my choices broader and my wallet fatter. In fact, I like shopping online way more than I do in the stores about 85% of the time. It boils down to these three simple things. One, I like the choices, and second, I like the convenience that shopping online gives me. Third, who doesn't love getting packages delivered to their front door? I sure do!

You can get into a rut though and find yourself only going to the same online stores just like you do your local ones. I felt things were getting stale and while I was a bit reluctant to leave my comfort zone I recently ventured into the world of BING. What I discovered with BING was a pleasant surprise. This online search engine offers more than just the ability to shop online. For example, I wanted to find some cute summer dresses. Not only did BING provide shopping sites but also articles about the latest styles in summer dresses. It was a nice refresher and gave me a chance to explore my own style more. I love that!

I feel totally late to the game on BING but it has a lot to offer. You can book flights, plan trips, watch videos and listen to music. Want to watch a bit of TV or see the latest news? BING has that too. You can even get directions from BING. I'm happy that I did check BING out because now I feel more web savvy and I always welcome a new avenue to do searches and some shopping.

Half in Love- A Memoir by Linda Gray Sexton

Half in Love

Half in Love (Surviving the Legacy of Suicide) by Linda Gray Sexton is a gripping memoir.  I found myself pulled in to her story of depression, suicide attempts, her family history and recovery in an odd way.  It was deeply comforting for me to read.  The honesty and depth that Linda gives to the reader is a gift to anyone that has dealt with depression and/or suicide on their own or with a member of their family.  At times I felt myself biting my hand as I read, half crying and reading. I related to her descriptions of "going down the rabbit hole" that depression creates all too well. 

As a woman of three girls and a post partum depression survivor two times over I am hardly a novice to mood swings, dark moments in time and feelings of intense anxiety.  My own mother went through the same situation from the time I was six months old to when I was about five.  While I don't have a clear memory of those days as a child I do remember when she turned the corner towards recovery from her depression and how it lifted the fog off of everyone in our household.  I had a different mother and one that I took great joy in being with as did my father.  Gone was the grey, fuzziness that seemed to tinge our lives.  Enter sunlight and a mother with a presence. 

Now, five years after my first round of PPD, my husband and I have entered marriage counseling.  Our communication skills are not up to par and problems within ourselves have left gashes in our life together.  Reading Sexton's book about her own marital counseling was not just relatable but gave me a way into seeing how my anxiety issues, pregnancy and post partum depression times strained my own marriage.  Five years of all those ups and downs.  Five years of my husband pulling that added weight of taking care of all of us. Never wanting to burden me with any of his problems so as not stress me out or unravel me further takes such a toll on a relationship no matter how stable.  It was through Half in Love that I was able to turn around and see more clearly how it must have been for my spouse to live with me.  I could barely pull myself together on many days so how could I give the support that one needs to give when in a relationship?  I could not.  He had no one to lean on and my children have lived with a mother who often wept throughout the day as she roamed the inner dark spots of her mind.  It is not a life I want for me or for them.  Through therapy and medication I have found my way out once again and hope to be here in this brighter, clearer spot forever.

My mothers own honesty with me about her post partum depression was a huge relief for me.  Unlike Linda, I never felt that I had to be my mother's keeper as a child. It was never on that level.  Her discussions with me about her own experiences with PPD made it possible for me to know that if I needed her I could rely on her to talk about my own pervasive sadness.  Depression and suicide are an inherited trait to some degree. But like Linda talking with her sons, Nathaniel and Gabe about her own illness and suicide attempts she gives it a voice that offers not just a release but the ability to see the person and the trait more clearly.  At the end of her memoir Linda writes, "Love might not ensure that I would stay well, but love would help me through the darkness."  I am eternally grateful for the love my husband, family and friends have provided for me over the years and my rounds with depression.  I can never express my gratitude enough for helping to not just save me from the cocoon of darkness but my family as well. 


Thank you to award-winning author Linda Gray Sexton for sponsoring this series, which is inspired by her memoir Half in Love: Surviving the Legacy of Suicide.

I was selected for this sponsorship by Clever Girls Collective which endorses Blog With Integrity

To learn more about Linda Gray Sexton and her writing, please visit her website.

Shutterfly Holiday Cards OH MY!

The other morning I went for a run and as I passed the picture perfect bridge near my house I noticed a family of four in matching outfits posing in front of it and its babbling brook.  The holidays. They are right around the corner and so are those holiday photo cards that will be in your mailbox before you have even finished the last of your Halloween candy reserves.  I smiled and then thought, "Oh no.  I have no idea what to do again this year."

Good thing I'm working with Shutterfly.  Originally, I was overwhelmed with the variety of holiday cards they have to choose from but there are many ways to refine your search from size, number of photos, designer, folded or flat or background color.  Once I got started I stopped feeling anxious about the whole thing and instead got excited about finding a great photo of our family with our newest addition.  Narrowing it down to my top three made it easier. I love the Go Sledding, Retro Chic and Elegant Damask Noir cards. Having that out of the way I moved on and explored the Shutterfly website further.  That's when I found the best thing yet.  Personalized thank you cards.  I can't get enough of them.  I buy them all the time with initials, cute graphics, you name it.  I love them.  Now I can create different ones at whim and my inner stationary geek has come out of the closet.  It's fabulous!

Do you want 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly? Click here to go to Shutterfly for information on how you can get 50 free cards this holiday season, and make sure to select Clever 1000 as the referral source.

This post is part of a series sponsored by Shutterfly. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

From the Halls of Musee D'Orsay to the Shores of Cote d'Azur- My Ultimate Family Vacation

This Post is Sponsored By


Cheerios® is giving you the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, your ultimate family vacation. As part of a paid promotion for their “Do What You Love” Sweepstakes, Cheerios® is sponsoring my post today about what my ultimate family vacation would be. Read mine, Enter the Sweepstakes for a chance to actually win your own fantasy family trip or one of a bunch of other great prizes.

Tip your head over the side of one of the world's most famous bridges stone facade and take in the view that is the Sienne. If you are thinking Paris and what a cliche I am for picking it you get a few points. The truth is, I have already been to Paris with my husband. However, my ultimate family vacation only begins in Paris. This time the trip would include all three of my children and my parents and Paris is just the beginning.

After a few days in the 'City of Light' where my children could explore open air markets and playing with pigeons in the park we would move past the city's inspiring museums and open air cafes to other areas of France to take in the country where our family originated. Provence and Marseille would be our next stop. We could dine on garlic-infused food, take in Roman architecture and get acquainted with the tiny towns dotted along the way. After that it would be the beaches on the Cote d'Azur. The blue waters and golden sands await us all in Antibes. I want to take our time eating our way through this glorious country that boasts 365 cheeses, wines galore and listen to the various dialects in each region. I want to take a family cruise through the canals for a few days, sleeping under the stars and wrap up the whole adventure back in Paris where a morning cafe au lait is followed by an afternoon sitting on the steps of Sacre Coeur and an evening drinking hot chocolate at a small cafe outside Notre Dame while watching the street performers work their night time magic.

It is a lot to ask and not something easily wrapped up in a tidy one or even two week time frame but that trip, with all its history and charm, family togetherness and exploration of our roots, that would be my ultimate family vacation.

Don't forget to enter the “Do What You Love” Sweepstakes, for a chance to win your own ultimate family vacation. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.